Nicole Kidman Helped Mariska Hargitay Land Curtis on Scarpetta
mariska hargitay and Jamie Lee Curtis used their latest conversation to put two TV-business shifts in the same frame: Curtis is on Scarpetta at 67, and she says Nicole Kidman helped make that happen. The exchange also pointed to Law & Order: Special Victims Unit being run by a woman after 26 years, a change Curtis pressed Hargitay on directly.
“I’m only on [Scarpetta] because Nicole Kidman said, ‘Jamie is on the show, right?’” Curtis said while discussing the 2026 series. She added, “I just wanted to be a boss; I didn’t want to have to put on the gear.”
Kidman’s Scarpetta nudge
Curtis said she was a producer and wanted to be a boss, which is the practical part of the casting story that cuts through celebrity mythology. In her telling, Kidman did not just praise the role; she pushed it into the room with one producer’s line about whether Curtis was already on the show.
That matters because Curtis is not talking about a one-off cameo. She is on Scarpetta in 2026 at 67 years old, and the role sits inside a larger pattern of women creating leverage for one another inside TV production rather than waiting for a gatekeeper to open the door.
SVU’s woman-run moment
Curtis turned the conversation toward Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and asked Hargitay how important it was to have a woman running the show for the first time after 26 years. Hargitay answered, “It’s everything.”
Hargitay said Michele Fazekas is now the showrunner of SVU, and she added that Brenna Malloy is a female directing producer who pushes her to new heights. Curtis replied, “You do wear some gear in Scarpetta. You’re showing the girls.” Hargitay got the last laugh with, “The girls were retired. It was all over.”
From Anything but Love to now
Curtis also reached back to 1989 and called Anything but Love her “favorite job ever.” John Ritter was one of the producers, and Curtis recalled that every actor auditioning for the rogue guy part backed her against a desk in a scene. Ritter then whispered, “You have really funny legs.”
That memory sits next to the current one for a reason: Curtis is still talking like an actor who cares who has power on set, not just who gets credit afterward. For readers tracking TV labor and leadership, the useful takeaway is straightforward — the casting story on Scarpetta came from a producer-level endorsement, and SVU now has Michele Fazekas in the top writing job while Hargitay says Malloy is helping push the show forward.
